REVEALED: Blackpool’s four-man management selection panel

William Watt

Blackpool have assembled a selection committee in their search for a new manager at Bloomfield Road.

Former Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday boss Dave Jones remains the favourite after more than a week of talks, although plenty others also remain in the frame.

Blackpool's company secretary Rod Dyer

And the decision is being made my a four-man team put together by chairman Karl Oyston, who have met a number of managers in the past week.

It’s believed Oyston himself chairs the panel, joined by company secretary Rod Dyer, football secretary Alex Cowdy and the chairman of a fan group, Iain Tarpey, who heads-up the much talked about Fans Progress Group has recently been involved in board meetings at Bloomfield Road and is now understood to be a big part of the managerial search.

The panel met a number of managers last week, at various venues around the North West including Preston’s Marriott Hotel and The Tickled Trout just off the M6 motorway.

It’s understood the group were impressed with Jones enough for Oyston to grant him a second conversation, and also spoke to former favourite Keith Southern as well as at least one in-work manager.

Jones’ last match as a manager was ironically at Bloomfield Road when manager of Sheffield Wednesday in November 2013, goals from Ricardo Fuller and Dan Gosling led Pool to a 2-0 win which saw him sacked the following day.

Despite season ticket sales believed to be incredibly low so far, no word, reassurance or update has been given by the club, instead staying typically silent about the process. With Oyston due back from a Bank Holiday break, it’s expected he could accelerate the process this week, although as yet no exact time scale has been made.

Jones remained favourite with the bookies last night at 1/2, with Keith Southern (3/1), Micky Mellon (9/2) and Owen Coyle (10/1) remaining popular.